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My thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for an eARC and to MacMillan U.K. Audio for a review copy of the unabridged audiobook edition, both via NetGalley, of ‘The Book of Legends: What if all the stories were real?’ by Sir Lenny Henry. The book is illustrated by Keenon Ferrell and the audiobook is read by the author. Towards the end of Rising to the Surface (which breaks off before his turn to academia, theatre acting and novel writing), Henry considers Winifred’s advice about life being a garden needing tending. He concludes with melancholy frankness that working within the entertainment industry can “make you the most neglectful gardener on Earth”. Twelve-year-old twins Fran and Bran and their mum live in a small town in the Midlands, Dad having mysteriously disappeared one stormy night on a family camping trip. At least the stories Mum tells them, the tales of the Nine Dominions, provide some much-needed consolation. On his 1984 wedding to French, he writes of rising to make his speech, “and suddenly regret[ting] inviting industry people. Why did I invite all these people off the telly? Why is the woman from Hi-de-Hi! at my wedding?” All through the 90s, he recalls, “I had something to prove [and] I threw myself into the work, even though, with a young child around, I could have slowed down a little and helped out a bit more.” When Winifred became gravely ill in 1998, Henry decided to go off on an arranged tour of Australia. She died while he was gone and in his memoirs he wonders what that was about. “Why couldn’t I just be at Mum’s side? I still don’t know and still question my behaviour at that time.” He describes what sound like the beginnings of the end of his marriage to French: “My selfish need to succeed through constant working [was] taking its toll on my family life. I made some bad decisions.” PDF / EPUB File Name: The_Book_of_Legends_-_Lenny_Henry.pdf, The_Book_of_Legends_-_Lenny_Henry.epub
The Book of Legends: A hilarious and fast-paced quest
But then, in a chapter paying off that notion of Henry “rising to the surface”, he describes winning a major industry award for one of his 2000s TV shows. The chapter comes with a photo of him holding a Golden Rose of Montreux entertainment award and the words: “What surfacing looks like.” For the reader it’s an unsettling swerve, I say. It seems to undercut his epiphanies in the previous chapters about the relative value of private and public validation.My thanks to MacMillan U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Book of Legends: What if all the stories were real?’ by Sir Lenny Henry. The audiobook is read by the author.
Book of Legends by Sir Lenny Henry - Pan Macmillan The Book of Legends by Sir Lenny Henry - Pan Macmillan
I highly recommend this wonderful audiobook and Big Thank you to Lenny for the precious hours I had with my nephew listening to this, He loved it Quests are no joke (but there are lots of jokes in this book). Two ordinary kids are about to go on one extraordinary adventure!Following the mysterious disappearance four years ago of their father, twelve-year-old twins Bran and Fran are living with their mum in a small Midlands town. She has always told them wonderful stories and now works as a storyteller at the Once Upon a Wow bookstore. A number of her stories are scattered throughout the text. The Book of Legends by Lenny Henry Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins was a wonderful and What if all the stories were real? WoW this audiobook was the bees knees I loved it and so did my nephew, I enjoyed this very much. While intended for readers aged 8 and older, I feel that like many Middle Grade books it will appeal to readers of all ages. This was such a delightful tale, bursting with magic and adventure. There are also plenty of jokes. Keenon Ferrell’s illustrations were a perfect addition to the text.
The Book of Legends on Apple Books
Photograph: David Vintiner/The Guardian. Set styling: Lee Flude. Fashion styling: Sarah Ann Murray. Grooming: Min Sandhu, both at Carol Hayes Management. Hair: Morris Roots. Coat: OAMC With his mother Winifred after winning talent show New Faces in 1975. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesThis was such a delightful tale, bursting with magic and adventure. There are also plenty of jokes. Lenny Henry’s mum used to say to him: our lives are like gardens. Be careful what you plant in them because everything needs tending. “And I don’t think I’ve planted my own garden very judiciously,” Henry says when we meet for lunch on a mild September afternoon. It is three weeks to the day since he published a volume of his memoirs, Rising to the Surface. In another three, his children’s novel, The Book of Legends, will appear in bookshops. Overnight, episodes of the new The Lord of the Rings TV show, The Rings of Power, will appear online; Henry has a small role as a hobbit. At home in Oxfordshire he keeps a copy of The Sopranos scripts on his bedside table, to help him sharpen his showrunning work on an imminent ITV drama about the Windrush generation. GQ magazine recently suggested that Henry was undergoing a renaissance (a “ Lenaissance”, they said) but honestly, all through his long career, Henry has flitted and filled his days like this, gigging, writing, acting, campaigning, broadcasting, studying.
Book of Legends: A hilarious and fast-paced quest The Book of Legends: A hilarious and fast-paced quest
Looking for a fast-paced adventure? Lenny Henry's The Book of Legends is a laugh-out-loud magical story for 8-12-year-olds, illustrated throughout by the incredibly talented Keenon Ferrell. But when their mum's treasured storybook turns out to be a portal to another world full of mythical legends, everything changes. Lenny Henry is just brilliant in so many way. His latest book/audiobook is about two ordinary kids, who are about to go on one extraordinary adventure!
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From comedy legend Lenny Henry, author of The Boy With Wings, comes his fantastic second middle grade novel, The Book of Legends, perfect for fans of outrageous adventures and illustrated throughout by the incredibly talented Keenon Ferrell.
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